Latest gee-whiz cruise ship feature: robot bartenders

Aug. 25, 2014
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Quantum of the Seas will feature a number of innovative, new-for-the-industry features including a giant mechanical arm that will transport passengers high above the vessel. / Rendering courtesy Royal Caribbean

by Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

by Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

PAPENBURG, Germany -- But will it listen when you pour out your troubles?

Royal Caribbean today unveiled plans for a bar on its next ship where the bartender will be a robot instead of a human -- a cruise industry first.

"It actually looks like a robot ... (although) it's not a humanoid robot," Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain said of the drink-slinging device planned for a venue called the Bionic Bar on the line's much-awaited Quantum of the Seas. The ship is scheduled to debut in late October and sail from New York.

Speaking at an event at the German shipyard where Quantum of the Seas is under construction, Fain said the robot will be similar to those seen at car factories. Customers will order drinks via tablets and then can watch as the machine prepares them -- with an occasional assist from a human.

"It's a single arm, and it will go get the ice and the mints and the lemons, and it will squeeze them and shake them," Fain said, adding that the sky's the limit on what passengers eventually will be able to order. "You can be quite customized. That's part of the whole concept of cruising."

The announcement comes as the idea of robot-served bars gains steam. Just last year a humanoid robot-served theme bar, the Robots Bar and Lounge, opened in Illmenau, Germany, and several start-up companies including Monsieur are developing more utilitarian robot bartenders for use at bars and at home.

Royal Caribbean's robot-served bar is just the latest gee-whiz feature that has been unveiled for Quantum of the Seas -- the first in a new generation of ships at the line that has been drawing growing buzz in the industry. By far the most anticipated new cruise vessel of the year, Quantum of the Seas also will boast such innovative new features as the first skydiving simulator at sea and a glass capsule on a mechanical arm that will rise high above the ship for bird's-eye views.

Also new will be Two70, an unusual, multilevel entertainment space with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that will feature live aerial performances as well as six "roboscreens" that soar through the room during surprise performances. At times, the glass walls will transform into an expansive ambient surface called Vistarama that projects real and imagined scenes. Read more about the Two70 space

Royal Caribbean is known for driving innovation in the cruise industry. The line was the first to offer miniature golf courses and rock climbing walls on ships, now found on many vessels, and in recent years has unveiled the first ice skating rinks, surfing pools and zip lines at sea. Other recent Royal Caribbean innovations include "floating bars" on its last two ships that rise three stories through a promenade area, and digital screens in hallways that offer directions.

Royal Caribbean today also unveiled plans for several other high-tech cruising firsts on Quantum of the Seas, including wristbands for passengers embedded with radio-frequency identification technology that will serve as room keys and also allow for onboard charging and help with shipboard navigation.

Quantum of the Seas also will be the first cruise ship with super-fast Internet service. Royal Caribbean says new satellites launched by tech partner O3b Networks will allow for broadband speeds that match fast connections onshore, allowing for streaming video, image sharing, video conversations and other tasks that until now have been difficult or impossible from cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean also has streamlined its check-in process for the debut of Quantum of the Seas with new technology that lets passengers upload an identification photo online and receive digital boarding credentials. Passengers no longer will have to stop at a check-in counter upon arrival on embarkation day to complete the check-in process.

"Cruise vacations have a romantic past â?? but they also have a lively, adventurous, state-of-the-art future," Fain said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "We were determined to take the best advances in modern technology, turn them into shipboard wows, and take the frustration out of the vacation."

Quantum of the Seas is Royal Caribbean's first new ship in four years. It won't be quite as big as the line's last two vessels, the 5,400-passenger Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas, which are the world's largest cruise ships. But it still will rank among the 10 largest passenger vessels in the world and feature all of the signature amenities for which Royal Caribbean is known, from a 30-foot-high rock climbing wall to a FlowRider surf simulator to an H20 Zone kids water park. Look inside Oasis of the Seas.